Bit confused

[soulman_uk]

Ok, so you buy yourself a snazzy car stereo which showing my age is refered to as a HU (the visual unit you see in your car) has lot of nice little features and lights etc looks like something from knight rider.

So thats step one right ... so you've got your factory fitted speakers in the car and they do your HU no justice so they are next to be changed right ? do you have to mofidy the door to allow for new speakers  or are they of a standard size ?

where it all loses me if what is an amp and subwoofer is it ?

and how do they fit in to this equation 

Not looking to send myself def but would like to be able to hear music when I'm on the motorway, my current speakers leave me strauggling to hear much 

got my self kenwood kdc w5031 all working fine. Also it takes just one cd at a time ... now I read about a cd changer how would I fit one of those.

I have a sony nw-hd1 sony atrac player is there anyway I can plug it onto my car system to listen to the tones of tunes I have on it ?

any help and clarification definitely most welcomed.

[GolfChick24]

the 'HU' can only provide so much power to speakers, in order to get better and louder speakers you get higher rated speakers, however, you need an extra source of power to cover the extra power they need and thats where the amp comes into it, powered directly from your amp and you get different rated amps to supply your speakers with the power you need. The Sub is simply there to accentuate those bassy sounds in the music you listen, if you listen to classical music you dont need it but if you listen to anything bump tishy then you might like it, its all about personal taste in the end. I have a sub cos i like it when my ears vibrate 

[GolfChick24]

on the speaker front it depends what car you are using as to what they will fit and whether you should consider modifiying to fit bigger ones. also again depends on your budget and what you're after from your system.

[soulman_uk]

Hey GolfChick23

Thanks for the reply. I'm starting to understand all this ice stuff been googling for a while today.

So this is what I've come up with I've got a decent HU. Next step would be to invest in some speakers to do it justice right ?

Then save up for an amp ? buy the best I can afford.

Then do the subwoofer if I need one ...

Now I need a cd changer ... save up and do that.

think that would be a good order to do things.

What I was wondering is as I do each one seperately will they work with eachother can I mix and match brands without a headache ... for example should I just buy the best kenwood amp \ kenwood subwoofer I can afford ?

Also where do I buy some decent speakers ... can anyone recommend a retailer. I looked on halfords but generally think they overprice stuff.

All help appreciated.

cheers 

[Ozz]

Try http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/index.php, theyre usually my first port of call for speakers. As for brands, it is not important to match speaker brands to head unit brand, the best bet is to set your budget then look at what the best power rating (always look at RMS rating not peak rating) you can get for your money. You probably want to look at the 3-way component speakers for the front of your car. These can be powered off your head unit tho would be best run from an amplifiier, so the next step would be to start looking for an amplifier capable of running your components. As for a CD changer, these are not very expensive, although you will have to check if your H/U supports a cd changer. If you fancy splashing out go for an MP3 Cd changer as this gives you much more versatility.

[vr4000d]

best system to do is:

nice uprated headunit
component speakers in the front (mid/crossover/tweeter)

2ch amp for front speakers

sub - (size depends on music taste)

amp to power the sub

no need for rear speakers unless you carry passengers a lot but they can be run off the hu if needed.

you dont have to spend big money to get a nice system.

just avoid mutant/xplod/splx.

you can always search 2nd hand on cad website for some bargains;)

always amp speakers from new as underpowering causes more damage so best to save and do it together.